Problems
by almostnormal94
Summary: She was a problem child you see, never quite lived up to certain expectations. Sad thing is that she really didn't know which ones she was supposed to live up to. RabastanOCSirius
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Everyone has a problem with April Rookwood.

Abraxas Malfoy has a problem with her because she just busted out his large floor to ceiling ballroom windows during an extremely important party that he and his wife were hosting. Not only was Abraxas trying to schmooze the new Minister of Magic, he was also hoping that the Cygnus and Druella Black would have reconsidered his offer. But alas, all his wife's careful planning and tedious organizing of this event was in vain because the Rookwood's obviously do not know how to properly rear a pureblood girl. Why she's wearing pants for Merlin's sake! Abraxas would love to personally wipe that little smile of the girl's face permanently but that wouldn't impress the Minister. So all Abraxas can do is look incredibly angry and make the bumbling idiot that is the girl's father pay for the damages later.

Narcissa Black has a problem with her because April is totally barbaric. All she does is think about Quidditch! She never styles her hair or puts on any make up and to top it off she wears pants. PANTS. Narcissa has known April for a very long time and still hasn't gotten used to her trollish ways. In her mind, April is the Anti-Narcissa. Rowdy, wild and loud. But that's to be expected when their family dynamics are polar opposites. Narcissa was raised with two—one, just one sister while April was raised with three older brothers. Narcissa's parents are strict and cold while from what little interaction she has had with Clyde and Esther Rookwood they seemed like loving and warm people. But the very worst she despises about April Rookwood is that she is always around boys, especially Lucius Malfoy (not that she's jealous or anything). But really would it kill her to have some female companions? No, it wouldn't. It would benefit April immensely if she became a little more feminine and hopefully people would eventually stop spreading those awful rumors that she's a lesbian (not that Narcissa started said rumors or anything). Now here the little dyke stands covered in shards of glass in half of a dress and men's pants, and she has the gall to crack a smile. Nevertheless, she laughs at the poor girl because this situation is funny and she needs a reason to smile these days.

James Potter currently has no problem with her, but that will change once the school year comes around. They aren't mortal enemies so to speak (that's reserved for Snivellus), he would say that they are rivals, intense ones at that. Gryffindor has lost the Quidditch Cup to Slytherin for six consecutive years and it's all because of April and her older brothers have been on the team. The Rookwoods never lose at Quidditch. It's a fact. Just like all Potters have black messy hair, like all Weasleys have wild red hair, like all Malfoys look like they have a stick up their arse, or like all Blacks have those eerily disturbing good looks. Every pureblood family has something unique about them. In all of the time Hogwarts has had Quidditch, if a Rookwood was a captain then their House would win the Cup. James doesn't know why, and quite frankly he doesn't care because this year is _his_ year. He has the captain spot, plenty of great friends, shockingly good looks, and charisma that could charm a snake (not that he would ever charm a Slytherin) all he needs is the Cup and the girl and his life will be perfect. So no, James Potter doesn't have a problem with April actually he should be thanking her for livening up this drab affair his parents dragged him to. He is roaring with laughter as he watches the elder Malfoy look likes he's about to pop a blood vessel. But his warm feeling will turn cold tomorrow as he starts strategizing because that pants wearing girl is going down this year.

Augustus Rookwood doesn't have a problem his baby sister. Actually he has more of a problem with that Rabastan Lestrange who has been staring at her all night. Really the boy is 16 years old surely he has seen a girl before. Augustus, just like is younger brothers, Marcus and Julian, is fiercely overprotective of the baby of the family and he should be. There hasn't been a female Rookwood in 7 generations and it's his and his brother's duty to make sure nothing happens to her. Luckily for him, she developed into a tomboy of sorts so it was easy to keep possible suitors away seeing as how she had none. Yes, in Augustus' eyes, April was special. Any guy who wins her heart will be incredibly lucky. Of course since she just made a very dramatic entrance through the Malfoy's ostentatious giant glass windows, she doubts any respectable family would want her to marry into their family even though she's guaranteed to bear a male heir and that little brat will be given fantastic Quidditch abilities she is a Rookwood after all. The night had started out innocently enough, just a quick pick-up game that they always do at these boring parties. It wasn't April's fault, it was Lucius' for being so bloody competitive with her in the first place. Malfoy should know by now that April will do anything to win. He is momentarily horrified that he sees her lying on the ground with blood covering her face but it's just for a second because she hops up and dusts the dirt of her make shift trousers wearing the biggest grin on her face. Yes, April was special.

Rabastan Lestrange has a problem with her because he can't keep himself from staring at her. He can't decide if it's love or lust. After seeing her practically naked tonight he decides that its lust, not that any of her brothers should know this little fact. When he saw her taking off that dress in Lucius' room to make the proper adjustments so she could play with them without having to ride side saddle, Rabastan thought he was about to take her right then and there. Of course she didn't know he was watching, she had the door slightly opened but it wasn't his fault she didn't know how to shut a door. Rabastan had seen other girls naked but they never looked like April. April was muscular, not like those little frail things he usually messed around with. It kind of turned him on that she could probably hold up in a muggle fight against him and the fact that she wears pants made him want her even more. He appreciated her other features as well, wavy dirty blonde hair that reached just below her breasts, a straight nose, and green eyes. The only fault was that she looked exactly like her brothers, which was a bit of a turn off because he felt like if he tried to kiss her it would be like kissing Julian. That night had been his worse game of Quidditch yet. He kept thinking about the dirty things she could do with that broomstick and it was not helping his Keeping game at all. Yup, he was completely in lust with April Rookwood and he didn't care that she had just made herself the laughing stock of the purebloods because seeing blood smeared across her face and smiling a wide toothy grin made him decide that he was going to marry her. Besides, Lestrange men rarely married well behaved women.

Lucius Malfoy has a problem with her because she beat him out of the captain position. It amazed him how his team and Head of House had decided that _she_ would make a better leader than him. Lucius Malfoy, the wealthy, powerful and handsome King of Slytherin had lost to a girl. What was a girl doing on a Quidditch pitch anyway? Shouldn't she be off in a corner practicing glamour charms and batting her eyelashes at him? Girls were far too delicate to be playing Quidditch, although Lucius hardly counted April as a girl, she wore pants after all. He was also a seventh year, surely that his mere seniority should have made him a likely candidate but no Slughorn and his so-called friends had picked April. Lucius had shamed his family and embarrassed himself. He was going to make sure April knew her place, even if it meant be a little rough. If she wanted to play with the big boys then she would have to be able to take the hard hits. During the pickup game, his team was losing badly. Rabastan couldn't stop a ball if his life depended on it. It was a quick decision. All he was going to do was try to corner her but she didn't take defeat that easily. She broke through his father's window, and landed with a loud thud on the marble floor. Lucius was almost gleeful for a moment, if she had died then that meant he would be captain but to his dismay she got up off the ground. The Quaffle was lying a few feet away from her but no one cared, all anyone cared about was that stupid smile on her face. Maybe she got brain damage and didn't realize she had just made a fool of herself. Lucius saw the Rookwood brothers glaring at him. It wasn't his fault the girl couldn't accept that she had almost lost. Stupid little bitch, he would mutter to himself.

Esther Rookwood née Flint has a problem with her only daughter because the young girl cannot seem to act like a proper young lady. Esther has tried time and time again to make her daughter presentable to pureblood society and just when she thought she had succeeded, April had to ruin it. Esther should have known something was going to happen as soon as she saw April and her older brothers sneaking off but how could she have known that twenty minutes later April would be standing in front of her bloody, holding her new broom and wearing the bodice of the ball gown she was wearing earlier and men's trousers. This is by far the most embarrassing moment in Esther's life. She can hear Druella Black and her two daughters sniggering and for a moment she considers turning around and hexing the wrinkles of that old hag but she doesn't. That wouldn't be very polite and would certainly not set a good example for April. All she can do now is send her daughter a scowl and a few icy words telling her to go home. If only her daughter could see that her behavior isn't very attractive to the opposite sex, that she can't go running around in trousers with all men, and that Quidditch isn't the most important thing in the world. Yes, Esther has a problem with April indeed.

**Author's Note: So this story kind of came up randomly, i kind of like where it might go but I'm not sure. Thoughts?**


	2. The Quidditch Problem

**Disclaimer: I own nada.**

April woke the next morning feeling very sore. Every corner of her body ached but it was worth it. She couldn't help but giggle at everyone's shocked faces last night when she crashed through that window. It wasn't that she did it on purpose, on the contrary she preferred not to pull the shards of glass out of her flesh all night but seriously all those uptight old duffers should really learn to have some fun now and then. She couldn't believe that all they seemed to care was her attire, as if she almost didn't just fall to her death. Honestly, it's like they've never seen a girl wear pants before!

April was described by people as a "modern" woman. She wore pants, spoke her mind and wanted to work after she was done with school. Compared to girls like Narcissa Black, April was an outright heathen. But it was the 70s and people everywhere, both muggles and wizards, were evolving in to something new—something better. Women were becoming more independent and all the social norms were flying out the window. So what if she was supposed to wear a bra and sit quietly while the men discussed politics, April did not care one bit. She could do anything she wanted and she certainly didn't want some chauvinistic pig telling her what to do. Including but not limited to Lucius Malfoy. That arrogant git really couldn't handle that she had been picked as captain over him but really he didn't stand a chance against a Rookwood. If a Rookwood was a Quidditch captain then Slytherin house was always guaranteed the Cup, Slughorn knew that, her teammates knew that, hell, all of Hogwarts knew that. It was just how things were. "Come on April! Its grub time!" called one of her brothers. She rolled out of her bed and quickly grabbed a pair of jeans off the floor and a white t shirt and made her way down to the dining room.

At breakfast, everything seemed quite normal. Her brothers (who all still lived at home) and her father were discussing who would be picked for England's World Cup team while her mother was buttering her toast quietly. The elder woman seemed to have calmed down quite a bit since last night. When April had arrived back at their house near London, April was screamed at for a good hour before she was allowed to clean herself up. Her parents never gave her a punishment so she was hoping they were letting her off easy this time. Esther Rookwood did not meet her only daughter's eye once April sat down at the table. The men of the family stopped talking and look at the women suspecting another fight. April decided to finally break the tension. "Hello mum."

"April." Esther answered shortly.

"Sleep well mother?"

"No, actually I was up all night figuring out what I was going to do with you and I have decided." She paused and looked at her father, who gave a reassuring look. "Your father and I want you to take a break from Quidditch." April gaped at her mother. Quit Quidditch? Had she finally gone bonkers? April looked at her dad for help but he seemed to agree with his wife. How could they do this to her! This was her year to lead the team to victory. Surely they understood that she was a Rookwood and Quidditch was in her blood. Her bloody ancestors practically invented the game! Her mother looked at her with a calm expression, she was serious. April would have started hyperventilating if Marcus hadn't of spoken up. "Mum, don't you think that's a little harsh? I mean so what if she caused a little damage, it's nothing we can't pay for!"

"It's not just that Marcus, it's the principle of the thing. Why on earth is a sixteen year old girl running around with all males and busting out windows? If you three weren't her brothers then people would think she was some sort of scarlet women! April darling, this is for your own well being and it will only last for this year or atleast until you find a proper suitor. If you play your cards right you'll be back on a broom before you know it!"

April was still staring at her parents. This was completely unfair. "Mum, we've talked about this. I don't want to get married until after school! I want to play for the Harpies!"

"You need to continue this bloodline and perform your duty to the magical world."

"I have three brothers! I'm pretty sure the bloodline will continue!" April was now shouting. How could her parents do this to her? She understood her mother wanting her to quit, she didn't want April to start in the first place, but her father? The man who was the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports and led the Britain to victory in the 1959 Quidditch World Cup? The man who drilled the importance of Quidditch into her brain since she was a babe? This was just preposterous. "April, you will stop this unacceptable behavior this instant. There is nothing you can do about it now because I already owled Professor Slughorn asking to revoke your captainship for the school year."

"YOU WHAT!" This wasn't happening, no, not to her. She looked to her brothers for support. Augustus shot her a sympathetic look and Marcus looked impassive to this whole situation, at least Julian was the only on that looked truly upset at this news. "Mum, no disrespect to you and dad but April is really good and has a real chance to continue professionally and her taking a year off could really hurt those chances."

"I'm done talking about this."

"Mum, please, don't do this to me!"

"April." Her father said in a warning tone. The only words he had spoken to her all morning. "I can't believe this happening," she mumbled to herself before storming out of the dining room.

April continued to sulk in her room all day, not even coming out for meals. She couldn't stand to interact with her traitorous family. It wasn't until much later that evening that Augustus finally checked to see if she was alive. "April, don't you think it's time to come out of room now?"

"No." answered the mountain of blankets on the giant bed. "Now, I know your upset but mum and dad are right. You need to continue the bloodline," said Augustus soothingly.

April suddenly burst out of the mound of blankets and said, "I'm okay with that, really, but I don't see why it's necessary to stop playing Quidditch?"

"Well, because…you see…the thing is…" Augustus was looking quite uncomfortable as he tried to explain to his precious and sensitive baby sister why she couldn't do the one thing she loved most in the world.

"I can take whatever you need to tell me, Gus." She said reassuringly. Finally mustering up some courage the male Rookwood continued. "Well, because you're so good at Quidditch, some guys are kind of intimidated by you."

"So you're saying that they don't fancy me because I'm better than them at something?" April asked warily.

"Basically, Yes." The room was silent for a minute as April contemplated his words. If she just had to get someone to date her, then all her problems would be solved and besides the first Quidditch game wasn't until mid-October. Surely she would be able to find someone she liked by then, all she had to do was wear her skirt a little shorter and put on some makeup. Yes, maybe by the end of September, she could be back on her brand new Cleansweep. She looked up at her brother who was searching for her reaction. She cracked a smile and hugged her eldest brother, "Thanks for telling me Gus."

"Anything for you Aprilcot, besides, maybe the break will be a good thing. You could focus on your studies more." He said seriously. April smirked, "Why would you say that? I think 2 OWLs is plenty for a future Harpy. We can't all be the perfect one y'know."

"I'm hardly perfect," he scoffed. April rolled her eyes, "Oh please, you were Quidditch captain, Head Boy, and received 7 OWLs. Not to mention you managed to become an Unspeakable within 5 years."

"You forgot to mention my shockingly good looks," he teased. "Seriously Gus, it's amazing you're not beating witches off with a broom." He shrugged casually and strolled out of her room. Augustus was by far her favorite brother, he always looked after her. She was close to Julian and Marcus too but she just liked Augustus better. He was fun to talk to, whereas Marcus preferred not to talk at all and Julian would only talk about girls. Everyone's personality differed from each other; they each had something unique about them. Augustus, their leader, born the first of August, he was the smartest of all of them. Marcus, born March 15, their second in command, he was the sensible one of the siblings preferring to be the mediator between fights rather than starting them. He worked for one of their uncles as an agent to Quidditch players. Julian, born July 19, he was a reserve beater for the Wasps and out of all of them was the best at Quidditch.

Quidditch had always been a major part in her family's life. It all started with Arthus Rookwood in the 1300s where he was one of the few that helped revolutionize the game of modern Quidditch. It is speculated that Arthus decided that he wanted his offspring to always love Quidditch just as much as he did. As it was en vogue at the time to hex your blood to make sure that your offspring was to carry on special traits, only Rookwood decided that the gift of Quidditch was what he wanted to pass on as well as his dirty blonde hair and green eyes. Throughout the years they had broom inventors, team owners, and champions and they were more often than not always a male. Of course when two strong pureblood families with hexed blood come together they create a hybrid of sorts, for example Narcissa Black (more Rosier in her than Black if you talked to the right people) or April who unfortunately didn't get the Y chromosome when she was in the womb. April was the oddity of the family, a driven Flint through and through. She always got what she wanted and the Quidditch Cup was going to be hers after the year was over.

What was left of the summer had quickly ended and she was now aboard the train Platform 9 and 3/4. Today was the day her plan was to be set in action. The day before she had begrudgingly asked Narcissa Black over to her house to help prepare for this day. Although she and April had never particularly liked each other, Narcissa was the only girl April knew to help her with her little problem. So they had spent the day in Diagon Alley, shopping for fashionable clothes and the proper potions she needed. By the end of the day, April felt sufficiently feminine. She thanked Narcissa and they went their separate ways. No, they didn't become best friends or anything like that. April still thought Narcissa was a snooty bitch and Narcissa thought April was still a wild ragamuffin but she supposed they became…acquaintances.

So there she was searching through the compartments trying to find a familiar face. Usually she would have sat with Julian but he had graduated last year which left her the last Rookwood at Hogwarts. She tugged at her attire nervously. She didn't know why she was so anxious, all of the guys in her House she had known since she was in diapers. At one point in time they had all seen her in some heinously frilly ball gown or in her stupid school uniform but this time it was different. She had voluntarily decided to wear this swishy skirt and tight sweater. Her hair was down and she had put on some makeup and was wearing her mother's extra pearl necklace. If this didn't prove that she was in fact, a female then she didn't know what could. As she came near the end of the train she finally found the group she was looking for. Lucius Malfoy was sitting next to his girlfriend Narcissa Black, on the other side of Lucius sat Serverus Snape a half blood from her year, and Rabastan Lestrange was sitting next to Gregory Goyle with an open spot on the other side of him. When she slid the door open, she swore they all practically broke their necks with how fast their heads snapped at the intruder. "Hello," she said coolly. They all mumbled their greeting and returned to the previous discussion. She sighed, just the reaction she had predicted. She had sat down next to Lestrange who was staring at her intently. When she met his eyes, he smirked and turned to continue the conversation. Not really interested in what they were talking about, she decided to stare at the rolling countryside zooming past her window. "So April, what do you think?" Lucius asked her. "I'm sorry what were you saying?"

"I said, what is your opinion about that Potter making captain?" he asked clearly annoyed. "Oh, I'm sure he won't hurt us that much," she said distractedly. April wanted to stay far away from the subject of Quidditch, the longer she could go without telling the guys that she wasn't their captain anymore, the better. "I think I'm going to get something from the candy trolley," she said suddenly.

"I'll go with you," Rabastan said following her out of the compartment. "So Rookwood, what's with the fancy get up?"

"Oh you noticed?" she said while quirking an eyebrow. "I'm a very observant wizard, Miss Rookwood. You should know that by now. Now back to the original question."

"Is it a crime to start dressing a little bit more feminine?" she asked innocently. "Answering a question with a question, you're obviously not hiding something." he said dryly. She looked at him crossly as they continued their way down the train. Rabastan was a handsome guy, April thought. He had dark brown hair with eyes that almost seemed black and tan skin, he also came from a good family with plenty of money. He was the Keeper on the Quidditch team and was friends with her older brothers. They had never had a conversation that didn't involve Quidditch but really what else did they have to talk about? All of sudden there was a loud crash and April fell backward, hitting her head on the ground. "Get off her Black!" roared Rabastan. April feeling very confused, felt a very large and strong body pressing her against the ground and a pounding in her head. "You know Lestrange, I quite like my position as of the moment and the lady doesn't seem to mind so why don't you just scamper off." April groaned, her head was throbbing painfully. She really hoped she hadn't gotten another concussion. "See?" said Black smugly. "THAT'S IT!" All of sudden the body was lifted off of her, and she heard a third voice enter the mix. "Now now Lestrange, I wouldn't do that if I were you, you seem to be outnumbered."

"Shove off Potter. I was only going to teach Black a lesson for knocking out poor April here. I was being- oh what's the word—chivalrous? I thought Gryffindor scum like you respected things like that?" April didn't have to open her eyes to see the smirk on Rabastan's face. "Lestrange, you are scum on the bottom of my trainers. I respect you as much as I respect Peter's chewed up gum." April's senses finally coming to, she decided to break up this little fight. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Rabastan had Black shoved up against the wall with his wand at her attacker's throat, while Potter and the rest of his Gryffindor posse had their wands out and aiming at Rabastan.

"Rabastan?" she said meekly. The boy whipped around and his eyes immediately softened. "April, are you okay?" he said as he helped her up. "I'll be fine, just another concussion that's all," she said dryly. Sirius then shoved Rabastan out of the way. "So sorry for that, you see my mates and I were practicing hexes to use on some slimy Slytherin gits like this one over here and one kind of backfired on me, please do accept my dearest apology Miss…?" April blinked at him and turned to his friends, "Is he serious?"

"Why am yes I am dear, but I would like to know your name also."

"Padfoot, for one that stupid pun got old by the second week of first year and secondly, honestly are you daft? Its April Rookwood, Slytherin Captain, known her all your life, any of that ring a bell?" said the Gryffindor with the prefect badge. Black looked her up and down, for a moment and then realization dawned on his face. "That's right! Thank you, Moony! So April, when did you start wearing girl's clothes? And when in Merlin's name did you get those gams?" April's face then went very red with anger. How dare he talk to her like that! Rabastan then stepped in between the two. "Run along now Black, next time I won't feel as merciful," he seethed. Black grinned and then winked at April who returned it with a scowl. "If that is what you wish for Lestrange, I'll just leave you and that ugly mug of yours that you call a face alone…for now." And with that Sirius Black ran off with his friends before Rabastan had the chance to hex him.

**Authors Note: Any better? Interesting at all? Complete failure? Criticism welcomed!**


	3. And Now You Know

**Disclaimer: Nothing you see belongs to me sadly.**

"Miss Rookwood, just the girl I wanted to see." April stopped dead in her tracks when she recognized her Head of House's voice. The Sorting Ceremony had ended and the students were heading back to their respective common rooms. She had successfully avoided Slughorn all throughout the night but he had finally cornered her as she was following her friends to the common room. "Hello Professor, did you have a good summer holiday?"

"Well my sweet child, I was until I received a letter from your mother. I hope you have alerted your teammates."

"I will soon sir."

"Are you sure you're not able to play this year?" he said eyeing her hopefully. April nodded her head. "Tsk, tsk such a shame. I was hoping to break the school record for most consecutive Cup wins. No matter, I'm sure Mr. Malfoy will do an excellent job as your replacement." April cringed, she couldn't fathom someone that wasn't a Rookwood as captain. Wanting to get away from the Potions Master as quickly as possible she said, "Well professor, it's getting late and I still need to talk to the team."

"Oh yes, yes that's right." Slughorn looked down at the ground, looking as if he wanted to say something more. "Miss Rookwood, if you need any help, I know some very young and smart men climbing their way through the Ministry. It wouldn't be that difficult to contact, just an owl away..."

"No thank you professor. Really this is something I'd like to do on my own." April said quickly. The thought of Slughorn playing matchmaker slightly disturbed her. "Well, if you need anything, you know where to find me. Goodnight April." April nodded and scurried off.

When she walked into the common room and quickly spotted her teammates. They were all huddled around the fireplace talking in hushed tones. Before making her presence known, she surveyed her team once last time. Regulus Black was the smallest (and youngest) of the team which was befitting since he was their Seeker. Lucius and Rowle, the other two Chasers, were standing next to each other in a deep conversation with Rabastan (the consistent and solid Keeper) while Evan Rosier and Goyle, the bloodthirsty Beaters, were listening intently. "Hello boys," the group turned around to see who was greeting them. "Well if it isn't our fearless leader." Lucius said sarcastically. They remained quiet as they all expected her to give some grandiose lecture about how this year would be run. Finally mustering up the courage, she said, "Listen mates, I hate to say this but I'm not playing Quidditch this year." There was a deafening silence. Rowle, Goyle and Rabastan's jaws dropped while the rest of her team blinked at her. It wasn't until Evan had spoken up that any sound was made, "You're just taking the mickey out of us right?"

"No, I'm serious,"

"But why?" said Rowle. "It's a family issue," she cryptically. "Come on now guys, I'm sure it won't be that bad. I'm sure Lucius will do a fine job as captain!"

"This is going to be a disaster!" Rabastan said dramatically. "Watch it, Lestrange." Malfoy said icily. "Like I said, this is going to be a disaster!"

"I'm sorry guys, I'll leave you to your team meeting now." Instead of going up to her room, she walked out of the common room. She didn't want to be there anymore and she certainly didn't want to spend the rest of her night gossiping with her dorm mates. "Rookwood, slow the hell down!" she turned around and saw Rabastan running after her. "You didn't expect to be let off that easily, did you? Come on, why are you not playing Quidditch."

"I already said that it was because of some family problems."

"Okay, that's nice. Now tell me the truth." April hesitated for a moment, she guessed someone besides Slughorn and Narcissa needed to know the truth. "Mymumwantsmetofindahusband!" she blurted out, the words running together.

"Pardon?" April calmed herself and reiterated, "My mum wants me to find a husband."

"And you can't do that whilst playing Quidditch?"

"Well, she thinks that me playing is scaring potential suitors off."

"Oh." Rabastan had a look of deep thought then said, "Well, how long is this ban for?"

"A year, or at least until I can acquire a fiancé." Rabastan nodded then took a step back and looked her up and down. Feeling mildly violated, April snapped, "Do you mind? I'm not some piece of meat!" A light smirked played upon the boy's lips. "Oh calm down Rookwood, I just want to make sure that what I'm about to say is going to be worth it."

"Well, whatever you need to say, I'm sure you can do it without objectifying—"

"Rookwood, shut up. I'm trying to propose to you for Merlin's sake."

"What?" April, eyes wide, gaped at the boy standing before her. "You heard me, marry me."

"Bu-but why?" He just shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "Well, we're both purebloods, we're close in age, we get along nicely, and you know your way around a Qudditch pitch. Why wouldn't we marry each other?"

"Oh I don't know, ever heard of a thing called love?" she said dryly. "C'mon April, don't be like that. I would treat you well. I don't want kids and could really care less if you worked or not and I doubt that any other right minded pureblooded male would let you do that." April continued to stare him down. He then added, "Besides like you said, any other proper suitors you have either scared off or are already engaged. So it's either me, or you can marry some git like Goyle. Take your pick."

"I don't know Rabastan, this is not something I can just commit to on the spot."

"I thought you wanted to play Quidditch? Don't you want to get back on a broom as quick as possible? Really you should be thanking me for offering a solution to your little problem." He snapped.

"Thanking you? I'm not going to make a MAJOR life decision because of Quidditch, no matter how much I adore it." She paused for a moment and looked him in the eye. "Listen, you're not thinking clearly. You're just overreacting to my announcement. I'm sure tomorrow when you wake up, you'll be happy that I said no."

"Fine, say if I was just overreacting, that still doesn't solve your little dilemma. We play Hufflepuff in six weeks and I doubt that you can find someone that is willing to put up with your shit and propose to you on the spot."

"Just let me think about it, okay?"

"Fine but my offer won't last forever. I've had the same talk with my mum." And with that Rabastan turned around and stormed back off to the common room. April gulped and pushed her back up against the cold dungeon wall and slid down. What was she going to do?

The whole team had decided to shun her. They wouldn't make eye contact or speak to her. As a result, this had caused her to branch out, which really meant she actually had to talk to her female roommates. It hadn't been that bad really, they weren't the clothes-obsessed dolts she thought they were. Well, actually fifty percent of the time was spent talking about clothes, makeup and shoes, thirty percent was spent on marriage options and the remaining twenty percent was pure, unfiltered gossip. At first, it kind of annoyed her that her days were wasted on such superficial bullshit but the girls were growing on her. They were funny, sweet and incredibly bitchy.

"Dear Salazar, McKinnon's book bag makes me want to put a wand to my throat." said Helena Parkinson one morning. "It could be worse," added Narcissa, "Wait, no, I lied. There is no way a bag like that can get any uglier." The three girls, Narcissa, Helena and Ava Winston had been a tightly knit group since their first year. Originally, they had been reluctant to include April into their small circle but they had found her knowledge on boys to be quite valuable.

"Oi April, what about that Bones bloke? He's pretty fit." said Ava.

"Gay."

"Nah, I think you're wrong."

"Am I? He's been staring at some 7th year Ravenclaw for the past thirty minutes." Like April, they girls were on the husband hunt too. "Ava, don't worry about it so much. Mr. Right will find his way to you eventually." assured Narcissa. "We can't all be as lucky as you Narcissa and have Lucius fucking Malfoy trying to wrap his hands around us." Narcissa rolled her eyes and continued to scan her Prophet.

"Did you hear?"

"Maybe we'll actually have a chance at the Cup this year.

"I wonder why she quit? Jessica told me she heard that she was pregnant."

Whispers had been flying around April all morning, she knew it was going to be like this but it still felt weird having the entire school talking about her. April's sudden departure from Quidditch had been a closely kept secret in the Slythering house. Apparently Lucius didn't want the other teams to know that they were switching strategies. Of course, word eventually got out when the Quidditch captains and Head Boy and Girl met to discuss practice schedules last , three days without all of Hogwarts knowing Slytherin's little secret probably had broken a record or two.

"Honestly, people are so one dimensional, it's like they have nothing else to talk about." said Helena. "Let's just get to Potions," mumbled April.

Once they had reached the dungeons, the girls had decided to separate. Narcissa and Helena paring off together and Ava decided to latch onto some random bloke frome Slytherin. This unfortunately had left April all alone and the only empty seat left was suprisingly next to none other than James Potter. "Well well well Potter, it seems that your goons have deserted you." James looked up from the book bag he was searching through and scowled. "On the contrary Rookwood, Sirius has decided that females are more important than his own friends and Remus wanted Peter as a partner so he wouldn't have to worry about someone hexing poor Snivellus. What about you, have the Slytherins deemed you unworthy now?"

"Now James, we're not rivals anymore, no need to be so tense."

"Actually, I probably dislike you even more now that you've stepped down as captain." "What do you mean?" said April frowning. "Well, it won't mean anything now when Gryfinndor wins the Cup this year." he said while running a hand through his hair. "Cut the Gryffindor crap, James. Consider yourself lucky that you'll get atleast one year of glory before I return to my rightful place." They continued to scowl at each other until Slughorn began to teach the lesson for the day. They both were chopping forcefully away at there dungbeetles when Sirius had decided to stop by their table. "Prongsy you didn't tell me you and sweet April Rookwood were friends now."

"We're not," they both answered simultaneously. "Black, I believe McKinnon is needing your assistance. You can go now."

"Now, now, April, don't be jealous. Although our affair on the train was brief, sadly I don't think Lestrange would approve of us continuing it."

"Is he always this delusional?" she asked Potter.

"Yup." Just then Slughorn appeared by Sirius' side, "Mr. Black, stop talking to Miss Rookwood and Mr. Potter and get back to Miss McKinnon. If I see you over here again I'm deducting points." Sirius threw James a smirk, and sauntered over to his forgotten partner. "So, why'd you quit?" James asked plainly. April sighed, "Familial obligations." James nodded his head understandingly, "I didn't think your parents were so old-fashioned and I certainly didn't think your father of all people would make you give up Quidditch."

"Potter?"

"What?"

"Shut up."

**Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. Really I had become uninspired until I recently got an e-mail saying someone had favorited this story and BOOM inspiration to write had returned. Tell me your thoughts por favor.**


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